In Irvine, Bush Says Orange County Is Key to State GOP’s Chances

With California’s race for governor coming down to the wire, President Bush joined GOP nominee Sen. Pete Wilson on Friday in mining for votes in the state’s Republican mother lode: Orange County.

If statewide Republican candidates are going to carry California, Orange County will be decisive, the two said at a breakfast fund-raiser, where Bush appeared in person and Wilson spoke through an amplified telephone from his Washington office.

“I think a political party, like a nation, should have an elite fighting force,” Wilson said. “Well, in California we call ours Orange County Republicans.”

Bush was campaigning for Wilson, but he spoke to an enthusiastic audience that is already looking to the President’s reelection bid two years from now.

“I recall when we started putting together your presidential campaign in 1986,” said Irvine Co. President Donald L. Bren, who introduced Bush. “And all the people in this room are looking forward to becoming the foundation for your reelection in 1992.”

Bush blamed the Democrat-controlled Congress for the federal deficit and the months of wrangling over a budget, which now appears close to a resolution.

The answer, he said, is: “We need more Republicans in Washington and Sacramento. So my appeal to you is--you in this county who hold so much of the fate of all these statewide candidates in your hands--let’s get out our vote on Nov. 6, and let’s make Pete Wilson the next great Republican governor in the state of California. Go to work, get out and vote.”

Orange County has the largest Republican majority in California, with the GOP holding about 56% of registered voters, to 31% for the Democrats. Bush carried the county in 1988 by more than 300,000 votes, just less than his winning margin statewide.

In addition to supplying Republican votes, Orange County is a major national GOP money exporter. Bren’s worth is estimated at about $1.8 billion, making him one of the wealthiest men in the country. And he was joined at the head table by Orange County developer George Argyros, who also holds a spot on Forbes magazine’s list of wealthiest Americans. Friday’s breakfast generated about $500,000.

“This is the county that assured your victory in California in 1988,” Bren told Bush. “And this is the county that is going to put Pete Wilson in the corner office at the Capitol in Sacramento.”

Bush’s ties in Orange County will also give local county GOP Chairman Thomas A. Fuentes a first-name welcome from the nation’s chief executive. “If Tom ever needs a campaign chairman for national office, all he has to do is call the White House and ask for Barbara Bush,” the President told the audience. “She’s his biggest admirer, and she feels about just the same way I do. What a job he’s done!”